“I bet you think we’re crazy,” said Jean-Guillaume Prats ruefully. The CEO in charge of LVMH’s project to make the best wine in China was looking at the rudimentary building site – many a hairpin bend above the Mekong River and four hours’ white-knuckle drive from the nearest airport – that will be Moët Hennessy’s winery and guest lodge. Tibetan women were working with pulleys and wheelbarrows. The electricity supply was far from reliable. We were at an altitude about 20 times higher than the highest vineyard in Bordeaux. Prats then resumed his interrogation of Stephen Deng, the estate director, as to whether the buildings could really be ready in time for the scheduled opening in September.
「我敢說你們肯定覺得我們腦子進水了，」讓-紀堯姆•普拉(Jean-Guillaume Prats)苦笑著說。這位在中國負責爲路威酩軒(LVMH)釀造頂級葡萄酒的CEO眺望著開工不久的建築工地，那兒將成爲酩悅軒尼詩(Moët Hennessy)的釀酒廠與客棧所在地。若要抵達那兒，得繞過瀾滄江（Mekong River，出中國國境後叫湄公河）河谷上的諸多險彎，到最近的機場需要4個小時心驚肉跳的車程。藏族婦女正用滑輪與獨輪手推車在工地上忙碌著。這兒時常停電，我們所處的海拔約是波爾多地勢最高葡萄園的20倍之多。而後普拉繼續問酒莊總經理鄧思迪(Stephen Deng)：所有建築是否能趕在今年9月份酒莊正式開張前完工。